Liquid feed system



y 1934- P. B. RENFREW 1,958,395

LIQUID FEED SYSTEM Original Filed June 50, 1930 %yar/ a7 Patented May 8, 1934 LIQUID FEED SYSTEM:

Paul B. Renfrew, Fort Wayne, ind, assignor to S. F. Bcwser & Company, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind, a corporation of Indiana Original application June 30, 1930, Serial No. 464,734. Divided and this application March 6, 1933, Serial lflo. 659,799

9 Claims. (Cl. 184-27) My invention relates to liquid feeding systems, and one of its objects is the provision of an improved and efficient system involving a jumpneedle feed device operable in a reverse flow or ;intermittent flow liquid feeding system.

Another object or" my invention is to provide an improved and eiiicient system which will operate when liquid is forced through the system in one direction to open a needle valve for the dispensing of liquid to the point desired 'and which, when the liquid flow is reversed by the flow in the opposite direction, will close the needle valve; to provide a simple and efficient liquid dispensing system including means in the feed head operable to open position for the flow 'of liquid in one direction through the system, and closed position by the fiow of liquid in the opposite direction, and for stopping the now of liquid from the feed head independently of said -fiow so that when the flow stops there will be 'no waste of liquid from the head; to provide a liquid dispensing system having a simple and efiicient means for opening the valve of the feed head when the liquid flows therethrough in one direction, and for closing the valve when the 'liquid flows through the head in the opposite direction so that when the flow is stopped in the first-named direction, the valve will again be opened for dispensing the liquid to the desired point.

' Other objects of my invention are to provide a simple and efficient means for adapting the feed head to ,a reversing flow system of operation, and also to an intermittent flow system ofoperation;

-to provide a reversing flow liquid dispensing system including a feed head provided with means for obtaining a very small discharge of liquid to the part to be fed from the head, and operable in a reversing flow system; to provide a liquid :;dispensing system having a feed head including a valve wherein means is provided for resiliently opening the valve when the flow through the head is in one direction, and for resiliently closing the valve when the how therethrough is in 1 the opposite direction; to provide a liquid dispensing system incorporating an improved pressure motor in the feed head for operating the valve thereof; to provide a liquid dispensing system including means for opening and closing the valve of a feed head, in accordance with the pulsations or" flow therethrough to prevent the formation of a him or deposit of the liquid tending to clog or restrict the flow from the valve, and thus maintain a regulated ,or predetermined dispensing of liquid to the desired point; to provide these and other objects, as will be apparent from a perusal of the following specification when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein I have illustrated and described my invention, as applied to a lubricating system for feeding minute quantities of liquid intermittently to the part to be lubricated, but it will be understood that broader aspects of the invention are equally applicable to liquid feeding devices generally, and the invention is not to be limited by the specific, particular means of exemplification.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of the liquid feed device embodying my improvements, and

Fig. 2 illustrates a liquid feed system including pumping mechanism for securing a reverse, intermittent flow of liquid through the head or heads.

While, in the following specification, I have designated parts as a lubricating system, and as a lubricator head, and the fluid is designated as lubricant, it is to be understood that such terms are merely illustrative and are not to be regarded as restrictive as the invention is of generic application.

In Fig. 1, 3designates the supporting body of the lubricator head having an inlet portand outletport at 4 and an outlet port and inlet port at 5. The port 4 may be provided with a suitable connection 6 for a circulating pipe 7; in a similar manner, the port 5 may be connected to the pipe 8 by means of the connection 9.

At the bottom of the supporting body 3 is a nozzle 10 having a conical seat 11 for receiving the needle valve 12. Secured to the top of the valve 12 and extending upwardly therefrom is a valve, stem 13, to the upper end of which is secured a collar 14 by means of the pin 15.

Screw-threaded into the top of the supporting body 3 is a nut cap 16 which is provided with a cylindrical bearing 17 for the collar 14.

Screw-threaded through the top of the cap 16 is a regulator 18, the lower end 19 of which is spaced a short distance above the upper end of the valve stem 13 when the valve is in closed position, as shown in Fig. 1.

By unscrewing the protecting cap 20 from the top of the nut cap 16, the upper end of the regulator 18 is rendered accessible so that by means of ,a screw-driver inserted into the transverse slot 21, the position of the abutment 19 maybe adjusted. It is desirable to open the valve 12 only to a slightextentso that there will be only a very small discharge of lubricant from the nozzle 10 or from the lowerend of the needle valve 12.

When such minute quantities of oil are discharged from the nozzle under the control of a valve the tendency is for a film of deposit from the oil to form on the valve seat tending to clog or unduly restrict the flow and thus disturb the regulated amount of lubricant to be dispensed to the various parts of machinery. In order to overcome this tendency and prevent such deposit, I provide a means for opening and closing the valve repeatedly, thereby keeping the oil within the body 3 near the valve 12 suiiiciently turbulent to render it impossible for such deposit to collect and therefore the valve and valve seat will be kept thoroughly clean and the setting of the abutment 19 can be relied upon to maintain over a long period of time the predetermined small quantities of oil to be dispensed to the parts to be lubricated.

Slidably mountedon the valve stem 13 is a piston 22 which when in stationary position closes the passageway between the ports 4 and 5. A spring 23 islocated between the bottom of the cap 16 and the top of the piston 22 and another spring 24 is located between the bottom of the piston 22 and the collar 25 on the valve 12. The springs 23 and 24 are in the nature of centering springs in that they hold the piston 22 in the position shown in Fig. 1 when the valve 12 is closed and there is no flow of lubricant through the ports 4 and 5.

Concentric with the spring 23 and surrounding the valve stem 13 above the piston 22, is a free spring 26, the lower end of which restsby gravity on top of the piston 22 and the upper end of which engages the bottom of the collar 14.

When how of lubricant takes place from the port 4 to the port 5 as indicated by the arrows 2'7 and 28, the pressure on the bottom of the piston 22 will lift the same against the action of the spring 23 and this upward movement of the piston 22 will open the passageway in the chamber 29 between the ports 4 and 5. The spring 26 is such that a weak impulse may be exerted on the piston 22 without resulting in the opening of the valve 12. In other words, the spring 26 holds the valve 12 closed against weak impulses on the piston 22 tending to open such valve.

upwardly to the extent permitted by the abutment 19. The valve 12 will thus be opened to a slight extent and lubricant under the pressure of the flow in the system. will drip at intervals from the valve 12 or the nozzle 10.

so as to open the passageway between the ports 5 and 4, and therefore flow will continue under pressure while the piston 22 floats in depressed position.

In Fig. 2, a single lubricator head or unit for an isolated point of lubrication is shown between the pipes 7 and 8. A group unit of lubricator heads is shown at 32 between the pipes 8 and 33. Pipes 34 lead from the lower ends of the lubricator heads of the group unit 32 to the various places where lubrication is desired.

In Fig. 2 I have shown pumping mechanism for securing reversed pulsations of the lubricant in a circulating system, comprising the pipes 7, 8 and 33 and the various lubricator heads connected in circuit therewith. This pumping mechanism is connected by means of the pulley 35 to the engine or machine to be lubricated so that whenever the engine or machine stops the pumping mechanism will likewise stop, and whenever this occurs the springs 23 and 24 within the lubricator head may be relied upon to immediately close the valve 12 and therefore there will be no dispensing of lubricant to the engine or machine when the latter is not running;

Mounted on a shaft 36 connected to the pulley 35 are reversely placed eccentric cams 37 and 38 in position to act respectively on the tops of the plungers 39 and 40 which are reciprocable in the cylinders 41 and 42.

The enclosing casing 43 for the pumping mechanism also serves as a tank for containing the lubricant supply. The plungers 39 and 40 are moved down by the cams 3'7 and 38 and these opened to force lubricant through the pipe 49 into the pipe 33. The flow of lubricant will then be through the lubricator heads in the direction indicated by the arrows 30 and 31, and the piston 22 will be lifted and consequently the valve 12 will be opened.

'When the cam 37 is moved from its lowermost position to its uppermost position, the spring 44 will move the plunger 39 upwardly which will result in the opening of the check-valve 50 and the drawing of oil from the tank 43 through the intake opening 51 into the cylinder 41. When the plunger 39 is again depressed the check-valve 50 will be closed and the check-valve 52 will be opened, resulting in the forcing of oil through the pipe 53 into the pipe 7 for flow of oil through the lubricator heads in the direction indicated by the arrows 27 and 23. This will result in downward movement of the piston 22 and the closing of the valve 12. 7

It can readily be seen that the rotation of the pulley 35 and of the cams 37 and 38 will result in a repeated reversed pulsation, resulting in repeated opening and closing of the valve 12. As above explained, the abutment 19 is preferably set to permit only a slight opening of the valve 12 and the reciprocation of the piston 22 and of the collar 25 will cause such turbulence of the oil in the chamber 29 as to make it impossible for any deposit from the oil to form a film on the valve 12 or the valve seat 11, tending to clog or restrict the passageway. It will thus be seen that a predetermined regulation of the dispensing of the lubricant in small quantities to the parts to be lubricated may be maintained. This will be true also after the engine or machine has been idle for some time, because as soon as it is again started and put into operation the reversed pulsation of the oil will cause repeated opening and closing of the valve to break up and dislodge any film or" deposit from the oil which has been at rest in the chamber 29 during the time that the engine or machine has been out or" operation.

iii)

. lubricant to the tank 43.

It will also be seen that the lubricator head structure shown in Fig. 1 is also adapted to an intermittent flow in the same direction. For instance, if the flow is intermittent in the direction of the arrows 27 and 28, the valve will be closed at each intermission. The pulsations may therefore be in the same direction as indicated by the arrows 2'7 and 28 to efiect repeated opening and closing of the valve 12 with a consequent turbulence of the lubricant in the chamber 2.) to maintain the predetermined area of opening of the valve 12 when the latter is in its uppermost position, as predetermined by the setting of the abutment l9.

Inasmuch as the lubricator heads are arranged to have their valves open only a slight extent so that only small quantities of lubricant are dispensed from the various nozzles, it will be seen that the larger proportion of the oil is used for effecting intermittent impulses to open the valves intermittently. Provision is therefore made for returning the larger proportion of the For this purpose the annular recesses 55 and 58 are provided in the plungers 39 and 40. The cams 37 and 38 are so designed that the outermost portions thereof are concentric with the axis of the shaft 36 over a sufiiciently large angle to hold the annular recesses 55 and 58 in their lowermost positions at certain periods of operation. For instance, while the cam 38 is depressing the plunger 40 to force the lubricant past the check-valve 48 into the pipe 49 and thence into the pipe 33 to the lubricator heads, the arcuate portion of the cam 37 holds the annular recess 55 in registry with the passageway 56. The arrangem nt may be such that the annular recess 55 is held in the position shown in Fig. 2 until the plunger 40 reaches the lower limit of its stroke. The oil in excess of the quantity required for the lubricators passes through the pipes 8 and 7 into the pipe 54 and then through the annular recess 55 into the passageway 56 and past the check-valve 57 to the interior of the tank 43.

When the positions of the plun ers 39 and 40 are reversed, the excess oil after passing through the lubricators flows through the pipes 39 and 59 into the annular recess 58 and then into the passageway 56 and past the check-valve 57 into the tank 43.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in th details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended and I wish therefore not to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is new and desire to obtain by Letters Patent is:

1. In a liquid feed device, the combination with means forming a closed liquid circuit, means forming a branch therefrom and having an outlet, a valve for said outlet, means for causing liquid to flow alternately in reverse direction through circuit, and means for opening the valve when the fluid flows through the ports in one direction and for closing said valve when said fiuid flows in the opposite direction.

2. In a system of lubrication, the combination with pumping mechanism adapted to be connected to the machine to be lubricated, of a lubricator head comprising a supporting body having an inlet port and an outlet port, pipes connecting said ports to said pumping mechanism to provide a main circulation line of flow, said pumping mechanism including means for alternately reversing the lubricant fiow through said main line of flow, a nozzle for an opening branching from the main line of flow, a valve for controlling the flow of lubricant from said nozzle to a part of the machine to be lubricated, means for regulating the extent of opening of said valve to regulate the quantity of lubricant discharged from said nozzle, and fluid pressure motor mechanism within said body to open the valve when the fluid flows through said ports in one direction and to close said valve when said fluid flow is in the opposite direction.

3. In a lubricating system, the combination with pumping mechanism for pumping lubricant intermittently in opposite directions, of a lubricator head having a supporting body with an inlet port and an outlet port therein, pipes connecting said pumping mechanism to said ports, a piston in said body, a nozzle for an opening branching from the main line of flow, a valve for controlling the discharge of lubricant from said nozzle to the part to be lubricated, means comprising a resilient connection between said piston and. said valve for opening the latter when the flow is in one direction, and a spring connected between said piston and said valve for imparting a closing movement to said valve when the flow is in the opposite direction.

4. A pulsator for a liquid flow system comprising a casing forming a liquid-containing reservoir, two cylinders associated with said casing, each of said cylinders having an intercommunieating duct provided with an opening into said reservoir, a one-way valve normally closing said opening, each of said cylinders having a pair of pipe connections therefrom to each end of a liquid circuit, one of each of said connectors being normally closed, but adapted to open under the creation of pressure in said cylinder, and each of said pistons having means adapted in one position for permitting the passage of lubri cant therethrough from the external line to the tank, there being means for alternately reciprocating said pistons.

5. In a liquid feeding system, the combination of means forming a closed liquid flow circuit, means for forcing liquid through said circuit alternately in reversed directions, and means actuated by the liquid flow in at least one direction for discharging the liquid from said cirsuit.

6. In a liquid feeding system, the combination of means forming a closed liquid flow circuit, means forming a branch liquid discharge connected to said circuit, means for forcing liquid through said circuit alternately in reversed directions, and means actuated by the liquid flow for discharging a minute portion of liquid from said branch without interrupting the flow through said circuit.

7. In a lubricating system, the combination of a machine to be lubricated having an operating part and having a part to be lubricated, means forming a closed circuit having a branch discharge connecting with said part to be lubricated, means operated by said operating part for forcing lubricant under pressure in alternately reversed directions through said circuit, and means actuated by the liquid flow in either direction for forcing a portion of said liquid through said branch discharge, said means including devices for normally closing said branch discharge when said operating part stops.

9. 'Apulsator for liquid flow systems comprising a means forming a liquid reservoir having connection to a closed liquid flow circuit, said liquid flow circuit having a branch discharge, means normally closing said branch discharge, means for forcing liquid in alternate reversed pulsations through said closed circuit, and means actuated by the liquid flow in at least one direction for forcing a relatively small portion thereof through said branch discharge.

PAUL B. RENFREW. 

